Egg-inspection apparatus



June 17, 1930- J. F. MAHLsT'ED-r EGG INSPECTION APPARATUS Filed Aug. 21. 192B 2 Sheets-Sheet l June 17, 1930. J, F. MAHLSTEDT EGG INYSPECTlIN APBRATUS:

Patented June 17, 1930 UNITED STATES PATE JOHN F. MAI'ILSTEDT, OF LS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA EGG-INSPECTION APPARATUS Application filed August 21,

rIhis invention relates to egg inspection apparatus wnich functions to receive the eggs when broken out of their shells. The invention also relates in some of its aspects to apparatus for separating the Whites of the eggs from the yolks.

`When eggs are employ d inV large numbers as, tor ample, in the bakery business, the eggs are measured by weightv instead of by count, and a large business has developed in furnishing broken eggs to bakeries and other concerns using them. Heretofore there has been no apparatus that suitably takes care ot the dii'ferent parts of the eggs when broken by the operator.

Under the present method of breaking eggs, there is employed a small device for aiding in separating the Whites from the yolks, but beyond this there is nothing to facilitate the various operations that are necessary for properly inspecting the whole eggs or the separated yolks and the whites. Accordingly, an importa-nt object of the present invention is the saving of time in the breaking, spara-ting and inspecting of the eggs. v

Another object is simplicity of construction and low cost of manufacture. Another object is the ease with which th apparatus may be cleaned. 1

Janother object is to facilitate the actof smelling the by the operator, vso as to determine w iether or not the same are stale or musty. n c

Other objects and advantages will appear in the` subjoined detailed description. t

The'accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. i

Figure 1 is a plan View oic an egg separator constructed in accordancefwith `the provisions of this invention, the egg cups being shown intheir lowered positions.A

. Figure 2 is a front elevation of 4Figure 1,

showing the rear` of the apparatus. Figures 3, 4: and 5 are vertical sections on the lines indicated by 3-3,14, 5 5 of Figv -Figure G is anenlarged fragmentary vertical detail ot the cup support partlyin section,

0 on the line indicated by 6,-6, Figure 1, one'of v En 1928. serial No'. 301,049.

the egg cups being support. Figure 7 is a view, mainly in vertical -section, on the line indicated by 7-7, Figure 6.

' Figure 8 is an enlarged side elevationiof 55 the device for aiding in separation of the whitejand yolk of the egg, the support on which said device is mounted being shown. in section. Y i i. i

There. is provided a U-shaped frame 11, which is adapted to rest on a table or other suitable support, not shown. A rod 12 connects the iiangesof the U-shaped 4frame together, said rodlbeing approximately horizontal. Below-the levelof the rod A12 and `65 mounted Ain the flanges or'standards of the frame is a rock-shaft 13, said shaft having two bends 14 therein, so vas to cause a portion 15 of the shaft to be positioned eccentric to the turning axis of said shaft(V 470 Near its ends and just insideof the standards 16,` 17 of the support, the shaft'lB is provided with arms 18,19, andinounted vapproximately midway of the length otsaid arms and connecting thesame, `is Ta shellbreaker bar 20 provided atv intervals along its upper edge with sharpened edges 21.

The arms 18, 19eXtend forwardly from the shown in elevation-on said l I shaft, and carried near theouter ends oi:

said arms is a` cup-support WhiChcOinpriSes a U-shaped member 22 that is pivoted at-23 at its opposite ends to the arms v18, 19, so that thel member 22 can rock Vrelative tothe arms. The cup-support also comprises a number of cup-supporting clips 24; which arespaced vat 85 intervals along the member 22. n

A number ofegg` cups25 are provided, and the botto'inof each cupis provided withy a U'shaped member 26 securedto said bottom so as to forni a slot 27 adapted to receive the 9,0 upper leg oi theclip 211. fThus Ethe cups are detachablyinounted on thesupport and they are attached andI detached byslidingtliern ,onjand ofl' ofthe clips 24. Inorder to hold rthe cups on theclips so that they do not'too f9.5 readilyslideoif of said clips,-eachclipeis .providedwith a spring 28 Which isj clamped between the member 22 and the lowerwleg of the clip y2i andV extends rearwardly andup-v wardly so as to engage the bottom face'ofthe .10G

member 26 of the cup engaging said clip. There is sufficient pressure of the springs 23 against the members 26 so as to retain the cups against any looseness, thus preventing the cups from accidentally sliding oft the cli s.

' ijn the operation of the apparatus, it is intended that the cups be maintained in a horizontal position while being raised to a predetermined height and that thereafter the cups will be tilted so as to discharge thereV from their contents. For this purpose, one end of the member 22 is provided on its outer face with an outwardlyv projecting follower in the form of a pin 29 which engages in a cam groove 3() that is formed in a cam plate 31 secured to the standard 16, said cam plate projecting forwardly from said standard. The cam groove comprises an arcuate portion 32 and a slightly curved or an approximately7 straight portion 33. When the arms 18, 19 are swung upwardly from their lowered position, the follower' 29 traverses the groove portion and the curve is such that the cups are maintained in horizontalposition. As the arms are swung still further upwardly so as to cause the follower A29 to traverse the groove portion 33, the groove portion 33 forces the follower outwardly and upwardly with respect to the turning axis of the shaft, thus to tilt the member 22 and, consequently, all of the cups that are mounted thereon, the tilting being from front to rear.

The arm 1S is provided at its outer end with a knob 34 whereby the cup carrier may be readily operated, said carrier comprising the hereinbefore describedshaft 13, arms 18, 19, member 22 and clips 24.'

Mounted to slide along the bar 20 is a device indicated in general by the character 35, said device being for the purpose of aiding in the separation of the yolk and white of the egg. The device 35 is constructed as follows: The device 35 comprises a yolk cup `36 supported on the end of an arm 37, the Y upper edge of which has ya cutting edge 38.

The arm 37 is carried by a slide 39 which is U-shaped so as to embrace the bar 20, thus permitting the cup 36 to be tilted sideways by rocking the slide 39 lengthwise of the bar 20. kPivoted at 40 to the slide 39 are arms 41 which carry a ring 42 adapted to iit the rim of the cup 36 when said ring is lowered. lVhen the ring is raised it rests upon a shelf 43 that projects from the slide 39. The ring 42 is provided with an outstanding lip 44 for engagement by a finger of the operator for raising and lowering of thering.` Y.

The device 35 may be tilted onthe bar 2O without the necessity of'detaching said device from said bar, so that the yolk of an egg de posited in the cup 36 can be ejected into one of the cups 25.

The device 35 may be Vof any suitable construction and the oneillustrated and Vdescribed above is already familiar to those skilled in this art, but it has been described herein, as such device constitutes one'of the necessary units of the apparatus, when the apparatus is used for separating the whites and yolks.

The device 35 projects forwardly from the bar 2O so that the cup 36 can be brought over any one of the cups 25 by simply sliding the cup 36 along the bar 20. Vhen the device 35 is slid to the extreme right end of the bar 20, in Figures 1 and' 2, said device comes beneath a guard 45 which is secured to the arm 18,V

proximately horizontal,the rims of said cups project rearwardly over the front edge of a chute 46 which is provided at its rear end with an opening 47 for discharge of that portion of the egg that is emptied from the cups in the said chute. The forward portion of the chute 46 is provided with an opening, or openings, 48, in this instance two, each provided with an upstanding wall 49 so as to prevent the egg part emptied into the chute 46 from passing through said openings. The openings 48 are over a second chute 50 which is provided with a rear opening 51.

The mounting of the chutes 46, 50 is effected, in this instance, by providing downwardly projecting hooks 52 on the bottom of the chute 50 to engage over the bar 12, and the forward edge of the chute 46 is provided with hooks 53 that hook over the forward edge of the chute 50. -Y

It may be assumed, for example,`that the whites of the eggs are to be deposited in the chute 46 and the yolks in the chute 50. To make sure that the yolks are broken, I provide a yolk-breaker in the form of a serrated blade 54, mounted lengthwise in the opening 51 so as to partially obstruct said opening.

The lower chute 50 rests on the rear wall 55 of a third chute which is indicated in general by the character 56. Thus the chute 56 is mainly beneath the chute 50 and extends from end to end of the frame 'and but a slight distance rearwardly of the bar 2O when said bar is in its lowered position. The chute 56,V is intended to receive theegg shells and it is provided withA an opening 57 which discharges laterally to one end of the apparatus. The construction described above operates as follows, it being assumedy at the beginning that the cups 25 are Vin their loweredposition. The operator slides the device 35 into position over the first cup on the right and raises the ring 42. She then strikes an egg on the nearest cutting edge 21 of the bar 20 or otherwise'breaks the shell of the egg, and

drops the contents of the shell in the cup 36, and throws the shell into the chute 56. The yolk of the egg remains in the cup 36 and the white discharges over the rim thereof and is aided in separation from the yolk, or cut olf from the same, by the operator dropping the ring 42 onto the rim of the cup 36. This dropping of the ring is momentary, the ring being immediately raised by the operator, whereupon the operator tilts the cup 36 to pitch or throwthe yolk of the egg into the second cup 25.

In practice, it is customary to deposit the whites of two eggs in one cup and the yolks thereof in the next cup and, accordingly, the operations just mentioned for breaking the second egg and separating the yolk and white will be repeated over the first and second cups. Then the operator slides the device 35 to the third cup from the left andthe operations hereinabove described will be repeated until half the cups have been rovided with egg whites and the other half with egg yolks.

As the operator breaks the eggs, she inspects them visually for signs of deterioration as, for example, blood spots and cloudiness, and when one has been broken that shows eitherl of these defects, the cup receiving the contents is immediately removed for emptying and sterilization and another sterilized cup substituted therefor on the carrier.

Assuming that the cups now contain whites and yolks of three or siX eggs, that have passed visual inspection, the operator then slides the device 35 beneath the guard 45 and turns the shaft 13 to raise the cups to as high a position as possible without tilting the same. This position of the cups brings them to about the right level for smelling of the contents of the cups by the operator, who smells of the broken eggs from left to right or from right to left and, if this test reveals that the contents of any of the cups are spoiled, the cup containing the spoiled eggs will be removed from the carrier for emptying and sterilization.

After the smelling test is completed, the operator turns the shaft 13 still further so as to cause the cups to swing upwardly and tilt, thus discharging their contents in the appropriate chutes, whites of the eggs being in the first, third and fifth cups Will discharge, in this instance, into the chute 46, and the yolks being in the second, fourth and sixth cups will discharge into the chute 50, and the whites and yolks will discharge from the respective chutes into suitable receptacles, not shown, placed beneath the discharge openings of said chutes.

After the cups have been emptied, they will be lowered to their lowermost position and the operations above described will be repeated.

Not only are the whites and yolks of eggs sold separately in bulk, but there is approximately an equally large market to be supplied with broken whole eggs or, in otherl words, eggs from which the shells have been removed but of which the whites and yolks are not separated and, accordingly, remain together.

To employ the apparatus for inspecting broken whole eggs, the device 35 will be removed from the bar 20 by simply Vlifting the member 39 off of said bar and the upper chute 46 will be removed by detaching ity from the rod 12. The egg shells will be broken as above described, and both white and yolk of theindividual eggs will be placed in the same cup 25, preferably two eggs in each cup. The visual and smell tests will be applied as above described and the contents ofthe cups will be emptied into the cute 50. y

It is preferable to provide a drip pan 58y beneath the cups 25 and bar 2O to receive the egg drippings when the egg shells are being broken and the eggs are'being moved from said bar 20 to position over the cup 86. This pan 5S is mounted aslant in the frame and a receptacle 59 is positioned beneath the lowery end of said pan to receive the drippings discharging therefrom. he receptacle is connected with the frame 11 by a bracket 60.

When the shaft 13 is in lowered position, the arm 18 rests upon a stop 61, though, if it were omitted, the 'follower 29 would engage the lower end wall of the groove 32.

I claim:

1. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier tiltably connected with the frame, cups detachably mounted on the carrier, a white and yolk separating device movably mounted on the carrier and selectively positionable over said cups, `and a chute positioned to receive the contents of` the cups when saidcups are tilted.

2. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier, a means to elevate Vand tilt the cup carrier, kcups detachably f mounted on the carrier, a white and yolk separat-ing device movably mounted on the carrier and'selectively Vpositionable over said cups, and a chute positioned to receive the contents of the cups when said'cups are v tilted.

3. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier tiltably connected with the frame, cups 4detachablymounted on`v the carrier, and chutes mounted'one above the other in position to vreceive the contents of the cups whensaid cups are tilted, there being an opening in theupper chute in alignment with one of the cups to permit of the discharge of the contents of saidcups through said openings into the lower chute. v

4. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier, a'means to elevate and tilt the L cup carrier, cups detachably` mounted on said carrier, and chutesl posi-V frame, arms fixed to said shaft, a lbar mounted to roclr on said arms and provided with a follower, a cam plate provided with a slot in which the follower rideswhen thev shaft is turned, said slot having an arcuate portion and. an approximately straight portion, and cups detachably mounted on the bar.

6. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier tiltably connected with the frame, cups detachably. mounted on the carrier, a bar mounted on the carrier, and

a white and yolk separating device slidably mounted on said bar and selectively positionable over the cups.

7. An egO' inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier, a means to elevate and tilt said carrier,l cups detach ably mounted on said carrier, a bar mounted on the carrier, and a. white and yolk separating device slidably mounted on said bar and selectively positionable over the cups.

.8. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier movably connected to said frame, cups detachably mounted on the carrier, and springs mounted between the carrier and the cups yieldingly retaining the cups on the carrier. i

9. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier tiltably mounted on the frame, a bar secured tothe carrier, cups detachably mounted on the carrier, Va white and yolk separating device slidably mounted on the bar and selectively positionable over the cups, a chute mounted on the frame in position to receive the contents of alternate cups whensaid cups are inv tilted position, said chute provided with openings itherethrough aligned with the other cups,-

and the second chute positionedbeneath the lfirst chute to receive the contents of saidj other cups when they are tilted.

10. An egg inspection apparatus compris- Ving a frame, a cup carrier tiltably connected .Y

with the frame, cups detachably mounted on the carrier, and a white and yolk separating device movably connected with'the'carrier and selectively positionableover said cups.

`11. An egg'inspectionV apparatus comprising a frame, a .cup carrier, a meanslconnected with the frame to elevate and tilt the cup carrier, cups detachably mountedon the carrier, and a white and yolk separating device movably connected-with the carrier and seflectively positionable over said cups 12. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a bar rockably connected ,with the frame, a means connected with the frame andwith the bar to raise said bar, means on the bar and frame cooperatingfto maintain the bar against rocking while saidbar is being moved a rpredetermined* distance, and to cifect rocking of the bar when said bar is further moved, and cupsdetachably mounted on the bar.

13. An egg inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrier tiltably connected with the frame, cups detachably mounted on the carrier, a bar mounted on the carrier, a guard lon the frame extending over one end of the bar, and a 'whitev and yolk separating device slidably mounted on said bar and selectively positionable over the cups and lo position beneath said guard.

111-. An egg-inspection apparatus comprising a frame, a cup carrierrtiltably mounted on the frame, a bar secured to the carrier, cups detachably mounted Von the carrier, awhite and yolk separating device detachably kand slidably mounted on the bar and selectively positionable over the cups, a'cliute fastened te the frame in position to lie beneath the cups when the cups are tilted, and a second chute removably mounted on the frame above the irst chute and provided with openings. therethrough aligned with some of the cups, to permit of the discharge of the contents of said cups through said openings intothe lower chute. A

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 14th day of August, 1928.

JOHN F. MAHLSTEDT. 

